A tale of two cities

Rally Cycling arrived in Quebec, Canada this week to race the ninth annual Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec and Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal. The WorldTour ranked events attract the top 18 teams in the world with Rally Cycling earning one of only two available wildcard invitations to close out their road season in esteemed company.

The Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec is held on September 7th and features a cobblestoned finishing climb in front of the historic Château Frontenac Hotel in Québec City. After a day of rest, Québec’s largest city hosts the second day of racing on September 9th, the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal.

With the Road Cycling World Championships in Innsbruck, Austria looming, the peloton arrives in top form to tackle these North American classics.

The undulating circuits in Canada require a roster full of strong, classics-style riders that climb well after a demanding day of racing. Rally Cycling will start Ryan Anderson, Rob Britton, Robin Carpenter, Adam de Vos, Nigel Ellsay, Colin Joyce, and Brandon McNulty.

After racing all but one edition of the races, Canadian veteran Ryan Anderson brings vital experience to a squad that is coming off of its biggest results to date.

“I’m really happy that we are racing here after the success the team had in Norway and Germany,” said Anderson. “I think it’s a big step for the program to start our first WorldTour one-day races! I had a good block of racing in Europe and now I want to finish the year off on a high.”

After toeing the line at the two Quebec races for seven years, Anderson knows how the races could unfold on his home courses and will be vocal in the pre-race meetings.

“There’s a pattern to these races and I think we just need to be on point and ready in the beginning and in the closing laps,” said Anderson. “Montreal is a very hard circuit which wears on you but I think we have a great team here for this weekend and we’re very motivated to fly the team’s colors on the world’s stage!”

The Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec covers 16 laps of a 12.6 km circuit for a total of 201 km of racing and over 9,000 ft of climbing. Historically, the race has ended is a reduced field sprint as sprinter’s teams have ample time to chase late attackers through Le Parc des Champs-de-Bataille, “Battlefields Park.”

On Sunday’s Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, the peloton climbs a back-breaking 15,000 ft over 16 laps of a 12.2 km course for a total of 195 km. True selections within the pack will be made in the closing laps and only 30 riders are expected to contest the finish.